Site Mobile Navigation

Wails at Loss of Lebanese Leader, Cries for His Vision

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 16 - The crowd began massing quietly in front of Rafik Hariri's mansion in the early dawn hours Wednesday as Lebanon prepared to bury him and the six bodyguards who were killed with him in a bomb blast on Monday.

Many carried flags, some wore T-shirts imprinted with images of Mr. Hariri, others simply held small pictures of him. Most were men, many barely older than 20, but almost all understood the poignancy of the moment.

They came from throughout the country in an emotional and politically charged tribute to Mr. Hariri, the former prime minister, billionaire developer and architect of Lebanon's revival from a devastating 15-year civil war. Some climbed lampposts while others hung from balconies, trying to catch a glimpse of the ambulance carrying his coffin, often breaking into wails as they chanted "There is no God but God" and "Hariri is loved by God."

Eventually, well over 100,000 marched down streets festooned with Lebanese flags, shouting "Syria Out" in protest of the dominant role Syria's forces have played in the country since the 1970's. Opposition politicians and the United States have strongly suggested Syria had a hand in the bombing of Mr. Hariri's motorcade.

The rites were organized by the Hariri family, which refused a state funeral to underscore its anger at the government. The meandering two-hour march through the streets became as much a show of Lebanon's struggle for unity as an occasion for mourning. Many Christians, Muslims and Druse, once bitter enemies, walked side by side. Church bells rang in unison with Koranic readings, giving an unlikely cadence to the recitation in a section of Beirut that once suffered the worst fighting of the civil war.

The red flags of the Druse leader Walid Jumblatt's Socialist Party and the green cedar flags of the Phalangist Party, also enemies in the war, fluttered together in the sea of people that descended into the funeral grounds in front of the unfinished Amin Mosque. "Brothers, we must all grieve together," one imam told the mourners.

In life Mr. Hariri endured tumultuous years as prime minister trying to bring the country together. He resigned in October to protest the lifting of term limits for President Lahoud.

In many ways, the burial was a reminder of Mr. Hariri's unfinished vision. With the mosque still under construction, workmen had to scramble to clear the site to accommodate the mourners. A crane loomed overhead and rebar stuck out of the project. The graves for Mr. Hariri and his six bodyguards were dug in what was once the parking lot of the Virgin Megastore next door. A permanent memorial is planned after the mosque is completed.

As the coffins arrived and were placed on the ground for funeral prayers, the mourners' wailing grew and paramedics rushed to treat many who fainted as Mr. Hariri's eldest son, Bahaa, pleaded for calm in order to read the prayers.

But as sadness slowly yielded to anger, it seemed that the most far-reaching effect of the assassination would be a fundamental change in the relationship between Lebanon and Syria, with a newly emboldened opposition movement renewing calls for Syria's withdrawal.

Syria has denied any involvement in the bombing. But Mr. Hariri's supporters have accused Syria and the Lebanese government of orchestrating the assassination. The opposition movement initially included only Christians and Druse, but in recent days it has gained many of Mr. Hariri's Sunni supporters.

"When they killed Hariri it added a new dimension, which is the Sunnis," said Michael Young, a Lebanese political analyst and editor. "It's growing and it has become a very big deal, but we're not quite there yet."

Syria has gradually lost its influence in Lebanon as it has alienated various constituencies, Mr. Young said. Now the bombing has damaged the very legitimacy of the Lebanese government.

At the funeral on Wednesday, Jad Khouri and a friend unfurled a banner that said, "It's obvious, no?" The quote was an allusion to an answer Mr. Hariri's son gave reporters asking him whom was to blame for the assassination. "I'm here because we're fed up with what's been going on," Mr. Khouri said. "For once, there is a movement that includes Muslims, Christians and Druse that's saying enough."